by C. R. Pugh
“Don’t make me knock that grin off your face, Gunter.”
Before he could make another witty comeback, the other Warriors approached. “What is it?” My words were sharp, but I did not think I could tolerate any more badgering.
“There’s a new bet this coming hunt, Commander,” Archer said with a smirk, ignoring my obvious foul humor.
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at the redhead. “It had better not include blowing up our supply wagon or any of the Warriors.”
The men snickered. Archer was well-known for tinkering with explosives, one of the reasons I liked bringing him on the hunt.
Max, a younger member of the team, chimed in, his eyes bright with enthusiasm. “There’s been talk amongst the trade-runners of a new beast in the wilderness.”
“The trade-runners are full of gossip.” I rolled my eyes at his superstitious nature.
“They say it’s deadlier than a Night Howler,” Max continued, refusing to be put off. “The trade-runners said they happened upon the dark beast a few weeks ago. It was standing over four dead men.”
I nearly scoffed, but his ominous words silenced my retort.
“They said it was injured badly,” Max continued. “Apparently it had been stabbed and shot multiple times, but it didn’t die. When the beast spotted them, blood dripped from its fangs. Its eyes were so terrifying they fled before it could suck out their souls. Long black hairs were all that was found on the victims. They said it must have been some sort of demon.”
The men exchanged skeptical glances and then broke out into gales of laughter. I grinned and slapped Max on the back so he would not feel humiliated in front of the older Warriors.
I knew I was going to regret asking, but I did so anyway. “What is this bet then? Which Warrior will be the first to find this demon and kill it?”
“If anyone could kill a demon it would be you,” Gunter declared with a wry smile. “With one glare, you would have that demon begging you for mercy, Thorne!”
All but Max snickered again as I shoved Gunter toward his horse and then mounted my own. “If you are all finished with your foolish talk then I’d like to get this hunt started.”
Gunter kicked his mount into position behind mine, as was his rightful place. There was no one in Peton I trusted more than him. We had known each other all our lives which was why I had chosen him as my second-in-command when I had earned the title of commander a year ago.
Pierce and Brock followed Gunter on horseback while Archer and Max each drove their own horse-drawn carts. Archer’s cart was filled with the food, supplies, and weapons we would need for seven days. A week was generous for a hunt, but former Commander Hawke had trained me to always be prepared for the unexpected.
Max’s cart would hold new captives that we would bring home to Peton from the Old Sequoia Valley. This was our sole purpose for the hunt. These men and women were not meant to be slaves, though there were always some who saw it that way. Peton’s forefathers had wanted to rescue any who had been banished into the forest. It had saved many people from certain death or starvation out on their own.
Warriors went out three times a year to retrieve exiles from the forest. Once in spring after the snows melted, once in summer, and once in the early fall before winter set in again. It had been a tradition for as long as I could remember. The number of exiles we needed each season varied depending on Peton’s needs. Over the last few months, two of those captives had died of sickness. Our head blacksmith had retired recently and the captive that had worked as his assistant was promoted to head blacksmith. He now needed his own assistant. One of Kemena’s healing apprentices married and decided to remain home to be a housewife. Four new exiles would be needed to fill those open positions.
There were some seasons when we did not manage to fill the quota. If that happened, then we all took a share of the extra workload. Other seasons we brought home more than enough. Regardless of what kind of luck we had in the Valley, we never left an exile behind if they needed help. Besides, there were always many jobs inside the city that needed tending to.
I whistled loudly to alert my Warriors that we were on the move. At the signal, many more citizens of Peton came out of their homes and shops to line the main road. They waved and cheered us off. This was one of the many traditions of Peton that I had always treasured. Even as a boy, I remembered watching the Warriors and hoping for the chance to join them. Upon returning from the hunt in a few days’ time, I knew that our people would welcome us back in the same manner.
We rode through the city gates and out onto the beautiful meadow that separated our city from the edges of the Valley. Our borders were protected by a stone wall about twenty feet high that stretched around the western half of Peton, while Mount Asa served as a protective barrier on the eastern side. The Fairuza Sea was just beyond the mountain range.
Gunter quickened his horse’s gait through the lush grass and joined me at the front of the line as we left the city walls behind. It irritated me that I envied his boyish face, free from the remnants of battles that we had fought together. The women all flocked to him with his green eyes and shaggy, brown hair that seemed to lie perfectly in place. I liked my own hair cropped shorter than most. It was easier to manage, but it tended to curl up and out in every direction.
“If you are thinking to continue badgering me about finding a life-mate, Gunter, your time is wasted.”
“Actually, I was just going to let you know that I have found someone suitable for myself,” Gunter answered back thoughtfully. “Now you don’t have to fight so hard against finding one for yourself.”
“I’m not fighting it! When I find a female that pleases me and does not cringe at the sight of me, then I will say the Binding Words. I have too many responsibilities to even consider it, anyway. And just who are you pursuing?”
“I haven’t spoken to her or her family yet, so I don’t feel I should divulge that information.”
I rolled my eyes as he fell back in line with the others, declaring the conversation over. We moved further and further away from our strong city, and I let my mind reflect on what Gunter had been trying to tell me. I was of a marriageable age, but none of the women appealed to me. The ones that might have been suitable shuddered at the scars on my face. The title of ‘Commander’ had drawn some interest, but I saw through their false flattery immediately. I was only eighteen when I had been declared commander of Peton, the youngest in history. Having held the position for just one year, I could not lose focus.
We finally reached the edge of the Valley and entered without hesitation. The trees in this outer edge were small, mostly fruit trees. The forest was thin here and the sun shone brightly through the foliage. The sounds of birds and other small animals rustling around could be heard, signaling that we were still in a safe zone.
As we moved deeper into the forest, the noise of the animals diminished. The sequoias were taller and grew much closer together, blocking out more and more of the sunlight. What was a happy meadow was now a dark and threatening forest, full of dangers that lurked in its shadows. Barbarians – men, and sometimes women, who had been born in the wilderness – lived like wild things. They were uncivilized, uneducated, and all-too-often starving, which made them do unspeakable things for survival. Cannibalism was not unheard of amongst the barbarians. These were not the kind that did well as captives in Peton, as Commander Hawke had learned from experience.
There were several other predators that lived and prowled in the Valley. Yellow-eyed Sabers grew up to four feet tall at the shoulder, ran on four paws, and had black and gray striped fur that blended easily with the shadows of the forest. They were named for their yellow eyes that glowed as they hunted their prey in the dark, and they attacked with long, sharp canines that extended from their jaws like curved blades.
The Night Howlers were even larger, at around five feet tall. This particular beast was nocturnal, had a large body covered in a black, silky mixture of fur and feathers, and
its head looked much like a large bird with a sharp hooked beak. The four paws it walked on were built with claws like sharp daggers, and its wings spanned over twenty feet in length. The beasts enjoyed howling through the night; a signal to us that they were nearby.
I had been on every hunt for the last five years, with the exception of one, thanks to one of these flying harpies. Two summers past, the village was set upon by a Night Howler and I had been injured fighting the beast. It took three of us to finally bring it down and we each bore scars on our bodies from the battle. None were as prominent as mine. Three vicious looking claw marks ran down the right side of my face, from my temple down across my cheek where the Howler had taken a swipe at me. One of them ran through the corner of my eye, having nearly taken it out. Kemena, who was a healer, had been beside herself for days until she was certain that I would not lose the sight in that eye. It would have made no difference to me, except that I would never have made commander with partial blindness. They may not have balked at me for being a Warrior, but I would never have been allowed to lead with such a weakness.
I turned in my saddle to check on my Warriors. It was unnecessary, but I did so anyway. Every Warrior was trained to be vigilant in all situations. Hawke had trained most of us, and he had been an excellent teacher.
Just behind Gunter was Pierce, who was just a year younger than Gunter and me. The three of us were the strongest fighters in the group. Pierce was nearly as tall as me, standing around six feet, but with broader shoulders. His brooding demeanor kept people away, except for Archer, who seemed to be his only companion. Archer was the most intelligent Warrior of Peton by far. He was an average fighter with a smaller build, but he excelled in weapons and explosives. Every hunt he produced newer and more effective ways to set protective perimeters around the camp. They were full of nasty surprises for anyone or anything that tried to attack. Then there was Max who was excellent with horses and seemed to have a knack for cooking anything he could get his hands on. Of all the men, Brock was the only new Warrior to the hunt, but a promising recruit at the young age of sixteen. We called him a chameleon because his brown hair and skin seemed to blend in to the forest. The six of us were definitely an odd group, but I only chose the most skilled to be out in the Valley with me.
We were all silent, listening for any noise that would alert us to the possibility of an attack from man or beast. The talk of a demon in the forest had me feeling edgy. It was surely just a fable told to frighten children and keep them from running headlong into danger. Still, I felt a jolt of adrenaline shoot through my blood at the coming hunt. My gut was telling me that this one was not going to be the same dull experience it had been the past few times, and I was eagerly looking forward to the challenge.
The little light that was coming through the trees was fading fast, so I stopped the Warriors behind me with a raised fist.
“Let’s make camp here for the night. We’ll start the hunt at sunrise.”
3
Ravyn
It had been nearly eight years exactly from the night I escaped Terran, and I was on the run again. Once again, I was fighting for my life inside the Old Sequoia Valley. This time I was older, smarter, and better prepared for what I would face.
“She has to be around here somewhere,” said a familiar male voice.
Shifting just a bit to the right, I was able to make out the shadows of six soldiers standing beneath the tree in which I was perched. The sun had set hours ago, and the clouds formed a dark blanket to cover the moon. If it wasn’t so dark, I’m certain I would know every soldier that prowled beneath me. They had been my comrades once. Now they were my enemies.
I was perfectly hidden within the darkness and the leaves that rustled quietly. My clothes, boots, and hair were pitch-black against the night sky, so they’d have to be looking closely to see the paleness of my skin in the dark. Even if it were daytime, they would still have trouble seeing me through the extensive foliage. The forest in this part of the Valley was extremely thick. The trees grew so close together and the branches were so tangled that, from the ground, it looked much like a basket that had been loosely woven together. Leaning forward carefully, I strained my ears to hear the conversation between the soldiers that were hunting me.
“Her tracks stop right back there. She can’t have just disappeared,” said a different soldier – this one a female.
They marched in noisy circles beneath the tree, eager to find a trace of my footprints, and they weren’t even trying to be quiet about it. That kind of arrogance was going to get them killed out here. I wasn’t the only dangerous creature roaming these woods.
“Turn on your spotlights. Search the trees,” commanded the first soldier in his deep monotone voice.
Immediately, the forest lit up with thin, powerful beams of light. Their efforts were futile though. The foliage was so dense, they could shine a light right at me and still never see me. Even so, I settled back and drew my knees up to my chest to cover the white of my skin and stayed perfectly still. I didn’t want to give them even a hint of a shadow to find.
“There’s no sign of her over here,” yelled the female from some distance away.
“General Wolfe gave orders for us to locate TS1 and bring her back, so that is what we must do,” the first soldier replied.
TS1 – that was me. I was Test Subject One: the highest ranking soldier among them. At least I was.
I wasn’t always a fighter. The soldiers had found me just a week after leaving Terran. Back then I’d been grateful. They had saved me from starving or being eaten by the Sabers that had been stalking me. I was only nine years old. How was I to know what would happen to me inside the compound? My training to become a soldier began at the age of ten and I never looked back. I was happy and thriving. For seven years I had a purpose. I wanted to be like those soldiers who had saved me.
When I was nearly sixteen, things drastically changed.
It was too dark to tell which of the six soldiers was speaking, but I knew they must be the higher-ranking ones. I thought I recognized the deep voice of Six, or TS6, as General Wolfe liked to call him. I wasn’t sure about the female. Maybe it was TS12. They all started to sound the same after a while with their flat, lifeless voices.
General Wolfe only thought of us as numbers. We were expendable. He’d etched those numbers into the backs of our necks, making us his property. TS1 would forever be tattooed on my skin.
I rubbed the back of my neck. The General and his scientists had put me to sleep to mark me so I couldn’t stop them. At least I’d been able to resist his brainwashing.
This group had to be close to giving up the chase tonight. The General’s soldiers may be decent trackers, but they were terrible at hunting game for food. They would have to return to the compound to restock their supplies soon.
“It’s time to go, Six,” said the female. “We’re not going to find her trail in this darkness.”
The sound of approaching boots had me perking up my ears again.
“What are you fools doing?”
A shudder ran through me when I heard a sinister voice that belonged to the most sadistic soldier I knew. It was Two. I was still confident that I was hidden well enough to escape his notice, but I could never be too careful with him. He was a fierce fighter, intelligent, and more powerful than me. I was quick but even my own skill would be no match for him. None of the other soldiers understood why he was ranked lower than me.
“We tracked One to this area but …”
“I know perfectly well what you are doing, Six,” he scolded. “What I want to know is why you are shouting so loud that anyone within a square mile could hear you? She’s not stupid.”
Two’s voice was just as menacing as his looks. He was not that much taller than me, not quite six feet tall, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in brute strength. Two was built like a bull, with the darkest skin and eyes I had ever seen; a walking shadow.
Six answered, “We need more
food and supplies. We’re moving out and heading back to the compound.”
“Yes, you do that,” Two snarled. “I’ll bet the General will be so pleased with your progress. Now get moving!”
The soldiers traipsed back into the forest toward the General’s territory, leaving me alone in the dark. Once I was certain they were gone, I settled myself more comfortably on the tree limb and breathed a sigh of relief. I’d had to learn quickly to hide my trail and set false ones to confuse them, but there was always a small part of me that worried about making a mistake.
Reaching for my small rucksack, I pulled out some rope and lashed myself to the branch. This was going to be my bed for the night just in case they decided to come back while I slept. If my count was correct, there were still four search parties out hunting for me, six soldiers in each group. One group almost had me about two weeks ago, but I had managed to overcome them. These weren’t just ordinary soldiers. They were more like robots, brainwashed to their master’s will. They would keep coming until they’d fulfilled the General’s wishes or I was dead. I was going to have to come up with a better plan than just running and hiding forever.
The Old Sequoia Valley was an ancient forest, an enormous buffer that separated all the clans on our tiny continent. According to the General’s extensive map, there were five that were close: Terran, Peton, Murray, Ahern, and of course the compound, which was more of a military bunker than an actual clan. There were some who lived in the Valley, but it was foolish to try and do so. When I ran away from Terran eight years ago, I was unfortunate enough to run into a few of the deadly creatures that haunted these regions. I’d sworn that I would never set foot in this forest again, but I was so wrong. I would rather take my chances with a Saber or a Night Howler than be in the hands of the General again. I’d been on the run from him for four weeks now. That was a long time for even the most skilled person, so I knew my luck was going to run out soon. Winter was coming in less than two months, bringing with it a whole new set of obstacles.